Answered questions

In the structure of our county government, Martin County’s Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) is the de facto chief executive for the citizens it serves. As the Chairman of the BOCC for two consecutive years, I am very proud to share some of the accomplishments of our governing body with the intention of leveraging these best practices and applying them to the team of professionals at the Clerk of the Court office. Our Board of County Commissioners:
- Exercised conservative fiscal responsibility to become more efficient in our daily operations during a time of declining revenues
- Prioritized capital and contractual obligations that enabled the county to bring a longer term, measureable cost savings to the county’s bottom line.
- Streamlined processes at the departmental level so our citizens can have a smooth experience with county employees
- Enhanced our customer service levels to our citizens through more effective communication and consistent interaction
- Focused on the use of technology advances to offset a decrease in the number of employees in our workforce

I believe this question is related to the chief executive of the Office I am seeking. The Clerk of the Circuit Court is an independently elected county constitutional officer and has direct responsibility for governance of the Office.

The current Clerk of the Circuit Court, Marsha Ewing, is retiring after a long and honorable career in public service. She led difficult transitions from the old courthouse to the new (including back and forth in temporary quarters during the courthouse rebuild), adapted to changes in the law and challenging budgets, and is beginning the monumental task of shifting to electronic records as required throughout the state. By nature of the office, Clerks play an important role in their communities and Marsha has consistently and graciously embraced that responsibility. She has served us well and I wish her all the best in her retirement.

This is a very important topic in Martin County. I have been a proponent of high visibility of the operations of our county government since before I became a county commissioner. As a result, I am pleased to see that Martin County has some of the best public access options in the state. With my support, our county website offers live streaming broadcasts of public meetings and replays, as well as archived videos and written minutes going back several years for meetings such as BOCC, LPA, MPO, MCSD, etc.

I do support live coverage of public meetings, both televised and webcast. I also support ongoing access to those recordings, as well as to any written materials related to public deliberations and official actions. Court TV has covered some local cases and I would work closely with the judiciary to assist with coverage of newsworthy, non-confidential proceedings. The Clerk also plays an important role through preparing and maintaining records of certain official proceedings and meetings. I would ensure that as allowable under Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, those records are readily available and easy to access.

Many private citizens are understandably not familiar with their responsibilities under the open-records and Sunshine Laws when they first serve on public boards or handle public funds. It is very important that they receive training and information about these laws as soon as possible when they assume their duties.

If elected, I plan to hold community “Meet and Greet” events on a regular basis to make it easier for residents to learn about the Clerk’s Office, resolve concerns, and seek input into ways we can make services and records more accessible. I would also expand the information available to the public through the Clerk’s website and ensure that information is not only easy to locate, but is easy to understand and use.

These laws are the cornerstone of fairness and equality in our democratic system and have served as avenues of disclosure in many of the meetings I have facilitated as Chairman of the BOCC in the last several years. Although these laws are applicable throughout the state, my recent experience in consistently applying these laws as a Certified County Commissioner at various public forums in MARTIN COUNTY has brought an additional level of protection to Martin County citizens which I intend to carry over to the Clerk of the Court Office should I be elected. The Clerk of the Court is an executive position that requires someone who has shown an ability to make difficult, responsible and sometime unpopular decisions that should be open for review by the citizens of our county.

I am fully committed to Florida’s open-records and sunshine laws. The constitutional right to open government is extremely essential to maintain the public trust – and the Clerk of the Circuit Court is a public trustee.

These laws work together to help hold government accountable by providing access to both discussions and documentation. I have received extensive training in the scope and the application of these laws and am firmly committed to not only the content, but also the intent of these important rights.

For several years I worked closely with the Attorney General’s Office and the Governor’s legal office to provide guidance and training to public advisory boards and commissions on issues related to their meetings and records. I also developed websites and managed statewide projects to provide consumers with better access to information such as comparisons of the costs of insurance and prescription drugs, and data about state salaries, budgets and contracts.

Because Floridians believe so strongly in our open government rights, the Florida Constitution rightfully states that the legislature can only authorize new exemptions from disclosure on a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate.

On a personal note, genealogy and studying American history are hobbies of mine. I am a frequent beneficiary of access to public records in multiple formats, often from court or municipal clerks in various states. I truly understand that Clerks are often the keepers of the history of their communities and public records are a key resource.

As is the case with all elected officials, the level of compensation is based on the size of the population. I believe the salary for the Clerk’s position is commensurate with the level of responsibility and experience required by the position. Increases should be based on job performance, but should also consider economic conditions. Notwithstanding, viable fiscal responsibility should be the ultimate goal for any executive role within Martin County.

The Legislature sets the salary of the local constitutional officers, including the Clerk of the Circuit Court, section 145.051, Florida Statutes. I believe this is a good method to ensure those discussions occur in public meetings with the opportunity for citizen input. The salary seems commensurate with a high level administrative position with significant fiscal and operational responsibilities. Additionally, the salary scale is based on the county population instead of on automatic increases. That method is better for the taxpayers because it is related to volume of service rather than just length of service.

The culture of government in and outside of Martin County historically had an expectation of automatic raises for all employees, whether a merit increase existed or not. At the time I was voted into office, Martin County encountered its most difficult fiscal and cultural challenges. As the only candidate seeing these challenges on a daily basis since the recession began, I have not only learned how to address merit pay as a basis for public employment, but also helped shape the culture for the level of service that had to be provided to the citizens of Martin County in order to receive merit pay. With the help of the Martin County Administration leaders, I supported and inspired the philosophy of the private sector where raises and other compensation should be based on individual performance, and economic conditions. As the economy improves across Martin County, the new expectations are that increases should be based on merit, rather than longevity. My experience in achieving these types of cultural milestones in Martin County will serve our citizens well as I pursue the same approach serving them as Clerk of the Court.

I believe promotions and raises should be based on job performance and merit, particularly for management positions. I think being rewarded for good work – rather than for just showing up for work – is a better incentive to excel and is more logical and just. Additionally, I realize that some jobs may not be as easy to evaluate as others, yet are still very important. Employee initiative, quality service to the public, new training and education, contributing ideas that help consumers and save tax dollars – these are some of the factors that can be taken into consideration when evaluating employee merit and job performance.

In our democracy, everyone has not just an opportunity to serve their community, but an obligation to do so in some manner. As a citizen committed to his community, I pursued this obligation as Vice Chair for United for Families and as a member of the Board of Directors for the Palm City Chamber of Commerce and United Way of Martin County. My time as a CCD teacher and lector/commentator at Holy Redeemer Church, as well as the President of the PTA at Palm City Elementary where I have been a member for 9 years, has given me the chance to do my part to make Martin County a better place to live.

I have carried these civic duties to my role as a public servant, where I wanted to make a positive difference in Martin County in a way that preserved its atmosphere and maintained its brilliance as the place to raise my young family. I have accomplished many things on behalf of the citizens and have served them well with a higher level of service with a more efficient administration. I have developed strong relationships with Martin County employees and constitutional officers in an effort to work together and get things done. I lead the effort for the construction of our water park so children would have a place to go with their friends. I was fortunate to be part of the effort to add a bridge across the St. Lucie River that will ease the traffic and bring better service to all the residents of Martin County. I have been responsible for overseeing a $329 million budget and empowering our county employees to streamline processes and become leaders in their respective roles.

Additionally, I have been an advocate for fairness and decency in the way we treat one another and the way our county employees provide the services that the citizens deserve. My passion and experience in all of these areas of accomplishments in my civic obligation drive me to take my level of service to the Martin County residents to the next level as Clerk of the Court.

I am not just running for office – I am running for the Office of Clerk of the Circuit Court.

Serving as the Clerk of the Circuit Court in my community would be such an incredible honor and has been a longtime goal. I have been working hard for many years in public service to prepare myself for this opportunity. While I was not sure it would become available, I never stopped learning.

I am ready to serve in this important role. I have focused my career at the local and state levels on helping people resolve issues that impact their daily lives and businesses because I genuinely enjoy solving problems.

I have significant experience in government operations and management, often working closely with the legal community in our local court system, with the legislature, the Attorney General’s Office, and also in the Executive Office of the Governor. I have requested and participated in fiscal and operational audits of large state agencies and small government programs. I have written policy manuals and been actively involved in personnel management and the public budget process. And I recently resigned as the Director of Open Government in the Governor’s Office helping to ensure access to public records, overseeing government accountability and transparency (open government) projects, and managing electronic records which further prepared me to run for this position.

To me, the Office of Clerk of the Circuit Court is an exciting job – one that would offer rewarding professional challenges and great personal satisfaction.

As was the case when I took office as a Commissioner, the most compelling task will be to continue to offer our citizens the highest level of customer service in the face of diminishing funding. My goal is to modernize the office with better technologies so a greater level of access and efficiency can be brought to all the residents of Martin County. I see a great opportunity to bring the improvements I made as a County Commissioner to a part of Martin County government that is ready for a new direction.

Individuals, businesses, students, law enforcement, government officials, non-profit organizations, historians – virtually everyone in our community interacts at some point with the Clerk’s Office. Some court services provided by the Clerk involve difficult personal situations for members of our community. Particularly during times of shrinking budgets and greater need, it is important to remain focused on quality service and ensure that everyone is treated with the utmost respect and receives the attention they deserve.

As Clerk of the Circuit Court, I would expand community outreach to help inform the public about the extensive consumer services and fiscal operations performed by the Clerk. I would embrace and utilize new technology and provide training to the public and businesses on accessing records. This is particularly important as we navigate into the world of expanded electronic information.

I am trained and ready to assume the nearly 1,000 duties and responsibilities of the Office. I would provide easy access to current and historic documents, protect confidential information, promptly and efficiently record and docket official records, diligently safeguard public funds, work closely with the judiciary to ensure jury service is efficient and meaningful, help people obtain passports and marriage licenses, and make it as easy as possible to obtain official information needed following the loss of a loved one.

The Clerk of the Circuit Court is an administrator, not a policymaker. The position requires a genuine knowledge and experience in court operations, fiscal management, public records, and administration - along with absolute integrity and commitment to service.

Unanswered questions

We did not receive any responses to these questions.

Q8. Please give an example of how you have supported the Sunshine or public records laws